The Big Sky School District Board of Trustees has selected finalists for the position of BSSD superintendent.
“We are pleased that we had exceptional candidates apply for our superintendent position,” said board chair Loren Bough. “The Board is equally delighted that, as a result of our recent survey, we have valuable input from our community, students and staff on the characteristics they would like to see in our next superintendent.”
The board has scheduled interviews with the four finalists for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 26 and 27. Here are the finalists for the superintendent position:
Paul Furthmyre has served as the Anaconda Public Schools high school principal for the past eight years. Prior to taking on his current role, Furthmyre was a teacher for six years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Western Montana College, his master’s in education (education technology) from Boise State University. Furthmyre received his superintendent endorsement from Montana State University.
Josh Middleton served as the assistant superintendent/executive director of Billings Public Schools from 2011-2014. Prior to his position in Billings, Middleton was the superintendent in Laurel Public Schools for eight years and the superintendent/elementary principal in Valier for four years. Middleton received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Utah, his master’s in Education from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, and his Ph.D. in educational leadership from Montana State University.
Dustin Shipman has been the director of the American International School in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the past three years. Prior to serving in this position, Shipman served as the superintendent at Boulder Elementary School District for five years, was an education director and teacher in Helena, and was head of the English as a Second Language Department of a British International School in Kiev. Shipman received his bachelor’s in English from Carroll College, his master’s in international education from Framingham State in Massachusetts, and his master’s and Ph.D. in educational leadership from Montana State University.
Monte Silk was the Superintendent at Corvallis School District for five years. He was also the superintendent at Snowflake Unified School District in Arizona and in the Colorado River Union High School District; was assistant superintendent at Bullhead City Elementary School District in Arizona; and served as the principal at Sweetwater County School District in Green River, Wyo. Silk has a bachelor’s in economics and business from Westmar College in Iowa, a master’s in education from Montana State University, and an educational specialist degree from the University of Wyoming.
Please refer to the Notice of the Special Meeting posted on BSSD’s website and elsewhere for details of the interview schedule. The public is welcome to attend.
